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The injustice league

Akhila Vijaykumar ponders on the state of the legal system in India, the Salman Khan case and its relation to patriarchy.

“I stand behind Salman Khan.”“Sure. It’s standing in front of him that’s dangerous.”This little joke has brought smiles to most of our faces; a reaction to the impassioned social media buzz where celebs and non celebs alike have come out in support of Salman, some far more idiotically than others.

Everywhere else in the world, “But he’s changed na? He’s done so much social work since,” is not seen as a valid legal argument that would persuade a judge or jury to let someone off. #OnlyinIndia? Not a hashtag we want to employ now right?

In India, clearly the justice system is only for the moneyed. Like decent apartments in Mumbai, if you got money, honey, you got everything. Jayalalitha, Manu Sharma and now Salman are just three cases—just three—across more than a decade, that are proof of this fact.

For younger Indians, the Jessica Lall case and the Nirbhaya case were wake up calls—we suddenly realised that no matter how horrific the crime, there seemed to be no serious consequence. The Nirbhaya rapists are still in jail, still awaiting sentencing, giving incendiary interviews. Supporters of Salman may argue about intent, premeditation and other technicalities—but the bottom line is either the law should apply to everyone or no one.

When I saw the documentary, India’s Daughter, I was immensely disturbed. Watching all those men blame the woman for what happened was a saddening reiteration that in my own country, my gender would always have me at a disadvantage. The victim-blaming that was apparent for everyone to see, I thought was a patriarchal construct.

Fast forward to now—with Farah Ali Khan and Abhijeet as well as many non-famous people airing their ridiculous view, and you realise that victim blaming is as much part of our national psyche as is patriarchy. That got me thinking. One of my thumb rules to figuring out if something is sexist or not, is to ask myself if the reaction would have been similar if it was a person of the other gender.

If a woman had run over five people while inebriated, would she have been given this leeway?

Would she have been able to go on with her life, make crores, travel abroad, and more—all with the spectre of this case hanging over her?

Sexism might be a new layer to this whole thing—but is it a relevant one? America suffers from the “powerful white man” complex. Clearly we suffer from a “powerful any man complex”—a world is open for those with money and vindictively shut for everyone else. Just ask Kawasi Hidme—a tribal woman from Bastar, Chhatisgarh, who was allegedly abducted and raped repeatedly for more than seven years, disturbingly and shockingly by the very police force that was meant to protect her. Is anyone saying #IStandbyKawasi?